As For Being American
by ArturiusRex8
Summary: What could have happened in the season two episodes House of Combinations/House of Heartbreak, if the writers didn't want some Fabina friction... I do not own any recognizable characters, stories, ideas, or etc.


Amber Millington. Fashion maven. Sibuna founder. Team Fabina. She had a lot going for her, especially in her book, which was the only book she really cared about.

"Amber?" asked Patricia.

"Yeah, Patricia, what is it?"

"Do you think next time you leave music on in your room, you could pick something that _doesn't _have background tones of a dying cat?"

Amber looked puzzled. "I didn't leave _any_ music on in my room, and I definitely don't have any with dying cat sounds. I don't think Nina does, but you never know with those Americans. Perha-"

"Amber! Go take care of it, whatever it is, now. Yeah?"

"Fine. I'm going."

As Amber walked up the stairs she wondered what could possibly be going on in her room. Maybe there was some Sibuna-related clue that required this music Patricia heard, or... "Oh no," she thought. "That's Nina's 'depressed music.' What went wrong now?"

Amber knocked on the door. "Nina, it's Amber. Can I come in?"

The 'dying cat' sound Patricia had mentioned stopped. "Su-sure, Amber. It's your room too, after all."

When Amber opened the door, she noticed three things. The picture of Fabian and Nina from prom last term was lying on the ground next to Nina's bed with several large tear stains on it, Nina's wardrobe was half-open because most of her clothes were about to fall on the floor, and Nina herself was curled up underneath her covers so that no one could see her.

"Oh, Nina, what happened? Did you get sick or something? You never have this much of a mess when you feel all right."

Nina stayed where she was and answered in a muffled voice, "Amber, you remember how you told me that Fabian and I were going to be on friend status if we 'were there any longer?' And that we couldn't be best friends _and _ a couple at the same time?"

"Of course, Neens. I remember everything, except for where I put that new pair of shoes last week... You wouldn't happen to kno-"

"Amber! Focus, please!" Nina's tone was different than her other attempts to get Amber to stay on topic, it was almost as if...but Amber couldn't dwell on that.

"Right, right. Sorry. Go on, Nina."

"I was telling Fabian about what you said, and he, and he..."

"You told Fabian! Why would you do that?" Amber thought Nina realized that you couldn't talk to boys you were dating like that without them thinking it meant a break-up.

Nina sniffed. "We were talking about that 'date,' and one thing led to another, and I was trying to tell him that his friendship meant so much to me, and I was glad we could show you were wrong, that he could be my BFBF, but he thought I was saying the friendship meant we couldn't date, and it was just so... And now he..."

"Nina," Amber said slowly. Calmly. Soothingly. "I know, you're hurt right now, and you don't really want to talk about it, but I need you to tell me: Did Fabian Rutter break-up with you?"

Nina's previous sniffles now turned into full-blown sobs. "Yes! He did. I knew it when this started, I knew this would happen! Whenever something good happens in my life, something bad comes along. My parents told me I was going to be a big sister when I was four, the next day they died in a car accident! My gran got me a puppy for my seventh birthday, it ran away a month later. My application to go to an English boarding school gets accepted, but my gran doesn't have the money to send me there. A scholarship comes through and I realize my dream, and it's like living in Harry Potter, but I'm caught up in a struggle to prevent a psycho from gaining immortality! The guy I have a crush on asks me out, and we're together for a few months before he finally realizes just how much better than me he is, how out of my league, and he dumps me! And I don't care if anybody else wants to go out with me, because all I want is Fabian, and he thinks I'm not pretty enough or smart enough or whatever to be his girlfriend and his best friend at the same time!"

Amber just stood there with her mouth hanging open slightly. Nina never shouted like that. She wouldn't be surprised if the people downstairs had heard that rant! "Oh, Nina, don't, don't cry. I'm here, I'm here for you." She pulled the covers down, grabbed Nina in a hug, and started patting her on the back. "It's going to be okay, trust me, Neens!"

"H-h-how? How c-can this possibly be okay, Amber?"

"I'm going to go talk to that boy and make him see sense!" Amber exclaimed while walking toward the door.

Nina grabbed her hand. "No! Don't Amber. If Fabian doesn't want me anymore, I won't force him to stay. I want him to be happy, even if that's with someone else." Her eyes became downcast. "Even if it's Joy," she whispered.

Amber put both of her hands on Nina's shoulders. "I know you aren't quite as versed in the ways of boys and dating and all that as I am, Nina, so just remember that when you get upset with me over this." She then ran down to the living room, leaving Nina standing there.

Fabian Rutter was pondering the latest problem in the mystery of Anubis House and the quest of Sibuna to delve into all its secrets. The combination lock hadn't opened for any of the birthdays or such they had tried, perhaps it was a rearrangement of the numbers...

He was somewhat rudely brought back to earth by Amber screaming, "Fabian Rutter! You, you, you complete arse!"

The other occupants of the living room (Patricia, Joy, and Alfie) turned to him as if to say, "What did you do?"

Amber walked over to him and started pummeling him. Alfie got her in a bear hug to stop the 'beating.' "Ambs, what's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on, Alfie Lewis, as soon as I finish knocking some sense into that jerk!" Amber replied while struggling to free herself.

"Amber," Fabian said slowly, "please tell me what I did to upset you."

"Upset me! Upset _ME_!" Amber screeched. "You've upset more than me, Fabian. Do you know what the girl who you claim is your best friend is doing right now?"

Fabian shrugged. "How should I know what Nina is doing? Maybe homework for Andrews?"

"No! Nina is in our room crying her eyes out because you broke her heart!" That shocked Alfie so much he let go of her, which enabled her to get in another few punches on Fabian before he trapped her again.

"I 'broke her heart?' It was her idea to break up!" Fabian said exasperatedly.

"No it wasn't! She was trying to tell you to stop acting as best friends so much and more like a couple!"

"But, but, but she sa-"

"Aren't you listening? Nina didn't think you were going to take it that way! She didn't want to split Fabina up, like you apparently did!" Amber was getting extremely riled up. The last time Fabian had seen her like this, Jerome had wound up holding his shins because she had kicked him with steel-toed dance shoes.

"I didn't want to break up, but I thought that was what she wanted," was his soft reply.

"Well, obviously you were wrong," Amber said waspishly. "You fed into this massive guilt complex she seems to have! She thinks every time something good happens to her, it will get balanced out with bad things."

Fabian couldn't even think of something to say, he was so ashamed of himself. He should have known Nina would do something like this! It was so 'her!'

"She also doesn't believe she can ever be happy ever again, because she can only see that with you, and she 'obviously' isn't good enough for Fabian Rutter. Too plain, too stupid to be with him, because he's a 'genius, handsome, clever, cute...' I could go on, but I don't think Nina would appreciate me spilling any more of our late night chats..."

Fabian walked toward the staircase.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to my best friend, Amber, to apologize for my actions, ask for her forgiveness, and beg for her to take me back. I might throw in some gratuitous self-loathing and compliments for her while I'm at it." Fabian continued on his way and whispered to himself, "And make her understand that I don't want this to happen again."

Nina Martin was sitting on the floor looking at her picture from prom. It had been one of the best nights of her life, even with all of the death threats and conspiracies and stuff, but now she found herself wishing it had never happened, if only to stop hurting this way. The air didn't seem to have enough oxygen in it, she kept gasping for breath.

A knock on the still-open door told her that someone had seen her in this pathetic state. "I hope it's Joy," she found herself thinking. "Let her see she has a much better shot with Fabian than I ever will."

"Nina?"

No, Nina thought. Not that voice. Not that voice that still manages to make her stomach do somersaults even though it had shattered her heart and crushed her hopes and-

"Nina, can I talk to you? Or do you hate me so much right now that you want me to die?"

"No," Nina whispered. "I don't hate you. I don't want you to die. Never."

She heard Fabian sit on the floor in front of her. "Nina, I'm so, so, _so_ sorry. I, I didn't mean to hurt you, honestly I didn't. It's just, the way you were talking, it made me think you wanted to break up, and I told myself going into this that I had to put you first. If you didn't want to stay together, I had to let you go."

"But, why, Fabian?" She hoped he understood the questions behind it: Why put me first? Why break up? Why, why, why?

"Because I care about you. A lot." She saw his hands lift from his lap, perhaps to place on her own, but he put them back down.

"But I'm just a stupid, plain American with nothing special about her," Nina said.

Fabian gently took her face in his hands, turning her eyes up towards him, but she felt as if he was silently saying, "Stop me any time you want to. I'm not forcing you to do anything here."

"Nina, you aren't stupid." He brushed away one of her tears with a thumb. "If you hadn't been there last year, we never would have figured out the mystery. You aren't plain." He wiped away another tear. "The first time I saw you, I never wanted to look away. Everyday last term I wanted to tell you how beautiful I thought you were, but I didn't have the courage. I never told you this, but before I asked you to prom, Amber somehow got the assumption that I planned to ask her and told me my choice was out of my league. She meant herself, but I thought she meant you, and if I'm being completely honest, she's right. You are out of my league. You're funny, you're giving, you're kind, you're compassionate, you're caring... There are so many things about you that are special and extraordinary and just...amazing!" He pushed one of her loose strands of hair behind her ear. "And as for being American, that's just something I'll have to live with." He said it with a smile, a smile that told her he didn't care what she was, just that she was Nina.

Nina leaned forward and kissed him, kissed him in such a way that he would know, know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was forgiven.


End file.
